Accident on JFX knocks man into Jones Falls, injures officer

On behalf of Marc S. Dorman posted in Car Accidents on Friday, June 14, 2013.

A police officer and a tow-truck driver were injured on June 7, shutting down the southbound lanes of Interstate 83 for two hours in busy Friday evening Baltimore traffic. The truck driver fell approximately 25 feet off the elevated Jones Falls Expressway (JFX).

The crash occurred as a Northern District police officer was investigating a single-vehicle SUV crash in the southbound lanes of the JFX. A Baltimore City tow-truck was called to help pull the SUV out of the lane. While the truck driver was standing outside the vehicle, a second SUV struck the first one. The police officer was hit by the SUV, which injured his leg. The tow-truck driver was pushed over the concrete wall adjacent to the highway. He landed on a patch of grass in the Jones Falls, which were swollen from recent rains. In a dramatic rescue, police officers and firefighters climbed down the embankment, stretched a ladder across the stream to the area where he had fallen, and slid him across the rushing water on a stretcher. Both men were hospitalized at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for their injuries, which were not life-threatening

.

The accident occurred in the same location as one almost exactly two years ago that severely injured another police officer. She was knocked off the side of the highway and into the Pepsi plant parking lot when a car struck the back of her car while she was helping a stranded motorist in the northbound lanes. She suffered multiple broken bones. According to a former police official, the elevated, curving highway on that stretch of road has only narrow breakdown lanes lined with concrete barriers, so police officers hesitate to stop speeders there because of the inherent dangers.

Although it was not yet known what caused the driver to hit the stopped SUV, causing the injuries, weather could have contributed to it. Although car accidents can be caused by any number of factors, people who suffer injuries as the result of a traffic accident should consult with an attorney who specializes in this type of case to ensure that they receive the compensation needed to get proper treatment.

The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.